When coaching athletes and professionals, the topic of anxiety comes up quite often. Sometimes it manifests as worry, fear, or uncertainty that is plaguing the individual for one reason or another. The conversation inevitably leads to incorporating positive affirmations for anxiety into his or her mindset.
Anxiousness and performance anxiety is something a lot of athletes deal with. It’s also common for retired athletes to be anxious about the path of their life and what they will do now that they are not actively competing. And then there are people who have experienced trauma or other stressful events off the field or court, which resulted in ongoing issues with feelings of anxiety. The common thread is here, you guessed it, anxiety.
One of the factors that makes anxiety so frustrating is that it can be difficult to break the negative thought and emotional patterns because it requires a mindset shift, which is not always so easy nor quick to attain particularly when you developed them with the intention of keeping yourself “safe.” Positive affirmations for anxiety are one tool that I’ve found can be very helpful. When you identify an anxiety driven thought, you need a way to turn that around by consciously choosing a new thought. Affirmations allow you to focus on a positive thought over and over again, which can help create a shift in your mind and subsequently your emotions and/or even your body.
Setting the space to focus on your affirmations is very helpful. For example, I like to use them during meditation because I’m in a relaxed state rather than in a state of panic. This is helpful for recalling the affirmations later during anxious moments. I put on meditative music (e.g., search YouTube or use a music streaming service), close my eyes, focus on my breathing, and then I repeat the affirmations with each breath.
Here are some additional guidelines that I have found can help you get the most out of working with affirmations long-term and creating mindset shifts.
I encourage you to create your own affirmations for your specific situation, which may come to you during meditation or other quiet moments. I find a lot of inspiration flows to me while I’m exercising by myself because I’m able to let things go and clear my mind, which allows space for those ah-ha moments to flow.
Keep in mind, too, that affirmations are not meant to be a cure-all for anxiety but can be an extremely helpful tool along your journey to healing.
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